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Talking Dragons, talking Favre

Word has it there could be some interesting news coming out of Dragonland today involving the hockey talk. In a few words, it’d be great to get it but as it’s been reported and speculated, it’s an incredible hill to climb.

I have a love/hate relationship with MSUM. The school and the individuals there gave me an opportunity to land a decent career and live in a city where, besides the flooding and the extreme weather, is pretty decent, too. But MSUM as a whole is somewhat of a PR disaster, much to do with athletics, going back a couple decades.

Full disclosure: I played golf for the Dragons beginning in the late 80s and had a first-hand account of MSUM as the school newspaper’s sports editor for three years. Times were a little different back then and the perception of MSUM being somewhat close to NDSU’s athletic persona today is simply nonexistent.

President Edna Szymanski knows this and I think she and the school have made some strides, but they’re only at mile 4 of a 100-mile marathon.

Even if the school finds a magical way to land a Division I hockey program and gains entry into the WCHA, how many miles would they gain? 20? 30? 70?

It’s not to say that MSUM hasn’t had or will enjoy success. It really has nothing to do with that. It’s more NDSU’s "fault" that the Bison have increased their stock to nearly a monopoly in Fargo-Moorhead. And this area just isn’t a two-horse town.

MSUM has it’s loyal followers and donors, for sure. The problem MSUM is going to have is that they’ll likely have to try to sway some of those loyal folks who have joined the Bison bandwagon in recent years. Or sway those who have been indifferent in giving MSUM a few bills from their wallets. If people can see the final product off the assembly line, that’s a different story. But for now, it’s still the cart before the horse and that’s an extremely hard sell right now.

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About Brett Favre: Sign him. Just sign him. I do enjoy the daily soap opera and it makes for good newspaper and talk-show fodder, but seriously, Favre is doing more now to hurt his legacy than throwing 20 picks a season. Now he’s starting to look like a fool.